SPRINGFIELD— State Sen. Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant (D-Shorewood) is sponsoring legislation that would allow roads to be named after fallen soldiers from Illinois.

“Service members who give the ultimate sacrifice for our state and nation must never be forgotten,” Bertino-Tarrant said. “Having a road named after a fallen Illinois soldier is one way we can pay tribute to their service and heroic contributions.”

Bertino-Tarrant’s proposal, House Bill 4344, would create the Heroes Way Designation Program. The program will allow family members of fallen Illinois soldiers to apply for an honorary road designation as a tribute to their deceased loved one.

The applicant has to be a family member who is related to the solider by blood, marriage or adoption.

SPRINGFIELD— A parent whose child has a serious medical condition can receive time off from work under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). However, that same parent would not be allowed under FMLA to take time off for the death of a child.

In fact, the average bereavement leave for a person who loses a child is three days according to a researcher at Arizona State University.

Today, State Sen. Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant (D-Shorewood) passed legislation out of the Illinois Senate guaranteeing parents who lose a child time off work to grieve.

“My plan is about having compassion for a parent who is going through a terrible tragedy,” Bertino-Tarrant said. “It is important that a parent who loses a child is guaranteed time off work to mourn.”

Under FMLA, employees are entitled to up to three months a year of unpaid leave for the birth of the child, adoption or to care for themselves or a spouse, child or parent with a serious health condition.

Bertino-Tarrant’s proposal, Senate Bill 2613, expands FMLA coverage by ensuring that employees who lose a child will be provided with two weeks of unpaid bereavement leave. This time can be used to make arrangements, attend the funeral and grieve their child’s death.

If signed into law, Illinois would join Oregon as the only states to mandate that employers are required to provide leave to employees who request it after the death of a child.

FMLA applies to all state, local and federal employers as well as schools and private sector employers who employ 50 or more employees for at least 20 workweeks in a year.

To qualify for FMLA leave, an employee must have worked for their employer for one year and worked at least 1,250 hours.

Bertino-Tarrant’s proposal now advances to the Illinois House for consideration.

PLAINFIELD— Illinois State Senator Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant (D-Shorewood) said Thursday that former U.S. House Speaker Dennis J. Hastert is a disgrace to teachers and lawmakers and should be stripped of all taxpayer-funded pensions from past jobs.

“I don’t want taxpayers’ dollars providing a retirement to this predator,” Bertino-Tarrant said. She sent a letter Thursday to the General Assembly Retirement System asking that it immediately take steps to suspend and revoke Hastert’s public pension benefits.

On Wednesday, Hastert was sentenced to 15 months in prison for bank fraud stemming from efforts to cover up sex abuse dating back to his time as a teacher in Yorkville. Hastert later went on to serve in the Illinois General Assembly before being elected to Congress and rising to become the powerful U.S. House Speaker. He had qualified for pension benefits for his tenure as a teacher, state lawmaker and congressman.

Illinois’ Teachers Retirement System canceled Hastert’s pension on Wednesday. However, the General Assembly system has not. Media reports have put his state lawmaker pension at roughly $28,000 annually.

Bertino-Tarrant said taxpayers have no duty to provide retirement benefits to someone who betrayed them and victimized children.

“Knowing what we know now, he would have been fired and jailed decades ago and would have lost his teacher’s pension and never had the chance to be a lawmaker, let alone get a pension. We have a chance to set the record straight. We should do so immediately as part of the effort to restore the public’s trust,” Bertino-Tarrant said.